In this solo performance, South African artist William Kentridge (b. 1955) combines narration, video projection, and a vocal and instrumental soundtrack. Part lecture, part theatrical monologue, part installation, I am not me, the horse is not mine is based on the absurdist short story The Nose (1837), by the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, which follows the travails of a pompous Russian bureaucrat who wakes one day to find his nose has escaped his face and assumed greater clout than he. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition William Kentridge: Five Themes, opening at MoMA on February 24, 2010, the performance reflects the artist’s interest in the rise and fall of Russian modernism and explores the idea of the artist’s control—or lack thereof—over his own creations through the presentation of multiple selves.
I am not me, the horse is not mine was first performed at the Sydney Biennale in 2008. It is part of an extensive body of work Kentridge has developed in recent years in preparation for his production of Dimitri Shostakovich’s The Nose, which premieres at New York’s Metropolitan Opera on March 5, 2010.
The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. Tickets ($20 general; $15 members; $12 students, seniors, and staff of other museums) can be purchased at the lobby information desk, the film desk, or online.
The performance is organized by Laura Beiles, Associate Educator, and Pablo Helguera, Director, Adult and Academic Programs, Department of Education.
The Performance Exhibition Series is organized by Klaus Biesenbach, MoMA Chief Curator at Large and Director, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; and Jenny Schlenzka, Assistant Curator for Performance, Department of Media and Performance Art.
